Recap: Do you even lift, bro? Chucky gets brainwashed and swole in Season 2, Episode 3
Who else had "Good Guy Doll with washboard abs" on their 2022 bingo card? ... No one? Just us? Weird. Anyway, let's talk about the third episode of Chucky's second season on SYFY and USA Network. The Nica-Tiffany storyline faded into the background this week as the hit show centered its narrative focus around the happenings at Incarnate Lord.
Jake (Zackary Arthur), Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind), Devon (Björgvin Arnarson), and series newcomer Nadine (Bella Higginbotham) have gotten their hands on the Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif) sent to do recon at the school. They want to know who sent him and how many Good Guy dolls survived the crash caused by Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) at the start of the season. But if they think regular questioning is going to work on the Charles Lee Ray, they've got another thing coming. If our protagonists want answers, they're going to have to get creative.
Did you catch Devon Sawa’s ‘Idle Hands’ gag in ‘Chucky’?
**SPOILER WARNING! THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHUCKY SEASON 2, EPISODE 3, "HAIL MARY!"**
With Chucky bound and gagged in Lexy and Nadine's room, Jake can't exactly return the doll to Father Bryce (Devon Sawa), who wants the boy to fess up to his sins. Upstairs, the captive Charles Lee Ray refuses to give up any information, even with the threat of death hanging over his plastic head. Devon fakes being ill to keep an eye on the murderer, though he believes this plan to be an utter waste of time and may lead to others getting hurt. He nearly kills Chucky when the doll begins taunting him and bringing up the fact that he murdered Devon's mom.
Rather than threaten their prisoner, the group changes tact: they're going to reprogram Chucky's mind, A Clockwork Orange-style, with an onslaught of violent imagery (courtesy of iconic horror films like John Carpenter's The Thing) until the idea of bloodshed makes him sick to his stomach. Believe it or not, this actually works. The doll not only vomits up, well, actual vomit, he also upchucks his own brutal tendencies. Proverbially speaking, of course. Chucky is a now a changed man...or doll, rather. He's kind and courteous and kind of adorable, which are adjectives we never thought we'd be using for the homicidal mascot of the Child's Play franchise. But hey, there's a first time for everything.
The only problem now is that the brainwashing worked a little too well to the point where Chucky doesn't know anything. Devon once again advocates to kill the damn thing, but Jake refuses, once again reiterating his guilt over Gary's death in the Season 2 premiere. He believes the only way to forgive himself is to forgive Chucky first. The two share a tender kiss, surreptitiously glimpsed by Father Bryce, who, as a clergyman of the Catholic Church, takes offense. The priest does not confront them directly, but ends up punishing Devon for Jake's theft (though we'd wager the real reason can be chalked up to homophobia) by sentencing the boy to polish a number of religious items in the chapel.
Lexy is supposed to be making sure that Chucky doesn't escape the room, but deserts her post when the supply of prescription drugs she stole from her mother starts to dwindle (quick side note: we learn that Mayor Cross lost her bid for re-election). Trevor (Jordan Kronis) threatens to make her life a living hell if she doesn't recognize his status as top banana, but Lexy puts the jerk in his place. A brief moment of triumph in a downward spiral of withdrawal. Just when it seems like she's on the verge of a mental breakdown, Lexy opens up to Nadine, who briefly dispenses with her quirky persona to offer support and understanding and, oh God, she's gonna die, isn't she? Dear, Don Mancini: Please don't kill off Nadine. We're begging you!
Unbeknownst to our heroes, a brand-new Chucky doll has been delivered to the school and immediately embarks upon a murderous rampage. First up is the alcohol-swigging Father O'Malley who gets strangled to death with his own rosary beads while in the confessional with Nadine. To add insult to injury, this new Chucky adopts O'Malley's Irish brogue, instructing the young woman to repent for her sins with an unreasonable 400 Hail Mary's.
At the same time, the docile Chucky escapes Lexy and Nadine's room and heads for Bryce's office, exonerating both Jake and Devon. Trevor sneaks into Lexy and Nadine's room, hoping to frame the former by hiding a baggy of drugs in her desk drawer. Things don't go according to plan when the new Chucky on the block shows up and beats the ever-loving crap out of the ex-bully. We say "ex" because Trevor doesn't make it out of the room alive, owing to the fact that there's a giant gaping hole in his torso. You'll see why in a second.
Lexy and the others return to the room and successfully hide the body from a routine inspection conducted by Sister Ruth (Laura Jean Chorostecki). Nadine secures this week's MVP award by scaring Ruth off with an off-putting rant about flesh-eating bacteria and brain-eating amoebas. Our heroes assume Trevor was murdered by the brainwashed Chucky, but for once, the doll — or at least a single version of him — is completely innocent. The docile Chucky can be found chillin' in Bryce's office when the door opens to reveal an absolutely swole Good Guy doll (do you even lift, bro?), who has been sent to Incarnate Lord to take care of Jake, Lexy, and Devon once and for all.
New episodes of Chucky premiere on SYFY and USA Network every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. The complete first season is now streaming on Peacock.
